Norman G. Wilks

May 12, 1928 - July 30, 2011 OKLAHOMA CITY Noted interior decorator and art collector Norman G. Wilks died July 30, 2011 after a brief illness. He was born May 12, 1928, in Cordell to Gordon and Irma Wilks. His funeral service will take place 11:00 a.m, August 3, 2011, at Bishop Angie Smith Little Chapel, east door on the OCU campus. When Wilks was just 13 years old, he joined his father who had opened a successful paint and wallpaper company in Oklahoma City and began what was to be a lifelong career as an interior decorator. As it turned out, he also began a second career in the field of art. In his Classen High School years, he tried his hand at painting and turned out to be "fairly" talented, he said. However, interior decorating was his real talent, he discovered, as he intermingled important art - paintings and sculpture - with his interior decorating. In 1964, when he opened his business, Norman Wilks Interiors, he added the words "and Art Gallery." His first business location was at NW 42nd and Western, an area which was then - and now again - an important design center. In 1966, he moved his art gallery and design business to 3839 NW 63rd, where it expanded and became a magnet for people looking for inspiring home decors as well as for artists and art lovers. From the first, Wilks sought out Oklahoma artists, some with familiar names and others just beginning their art careers. He mentored them, before mentoring even became a household word, and he taught them professionalism. His artists were taught how to submit art for showings, how to frame and title their paintings, how to prepare brochures. And he exposed them not only to Oklahoma's art world but also to those outside Oklahoma. "His" artists usually went on to national acclaim. Among them were the late Jack Vallee, Bert Seabourn, Beth McIninch, Joan Marron LaRue, Pat Snyder and Robert Owen. Wilks was one of the first gallery owners to realize the importance of art in home decor - and he was among the first to recognize the importance of the Santa Fe and Southwestern influences in art and interior decor. As his list of clients grew, so did his reputation across the country. He was often off to California or Chicago or maybe just Kansas to create beautiful interiors in all styles for his many customers, all of whom became his fast friends. Often, because of what he called the "3 Ds": Death, Divorce and Dogs, he frequently re-decorated houses for the same individuals. If he satisfied his patron the first time, he could count on being called upon again should this become necessary. Wilks delighted in wearing shirts with French cuffs where he could display his incredibly beautiful collection of cuff links. Wilks is survived by a special group of friends in his "brunch bunch" who gathered once a month to enjoy his sense of humor and comments. He led them to long weekends in Santa Fe and Taos, to the latest theater productions and concerts, the best or newest area restaurants and kept them posted (prior to internet) by phone calls when a real celebrity - such as Kristen Chenoweth or Kelli O'Hara - was going to be on the Morning Show or on the Late Show. In return, they frequently added to his elegant collection of cuff links which he found on his travels. French cuffs were a standard of his apparel. He wore them constantly, even to the State Capitol when, in 1996 he received a Special Award in the Governor's Arts Awards ceremony. He has asked that memorial donations go to a member of his brunch bunch, Oklahoma City University voice professor, Florence Birdwell, for the Florence Birdwell Scholarship Fund at OCU.

Arrangements under the direction of Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper Funeral Directors, Oklahoma City, OK.